Newcastle: The inconsistency in refereeing

After Matt Ritchie’s high foot against Alfie Mawson, I decided to look at the refereeing inconsistencies in the Premier League:

Mane vs Ritchie:

Last week Sadio Mane was sent off against Man City for kicking Ederson in the face whilst challenging for the ball in the air. Ederson was subsequently substituted and needed stitches after the incident. A few days ago, Ritchie got in some controversy when he challenged for the ball with a high foot against Alfie Mawson and was shown a yellow.

This has caused a lot of controversy as the decisions were both different. I can completely understand why Ritchie was only shown a yellow as Mawson didn’t bleed and stayed on his feet. I do think Ritchie should have gotten a red card as it was dangerous play and it could have easily caused serious harm. However, the fact Ritchie didn’t get sent off because of Mawson’s lack of reaction shows how easily referees can be conned. Mane’s challenge was a lot worse with a lot more speed but Ritchie’s incident has been treated a lot worse than Mane’s.

This leads on to more inconsistency as Chancel Mbemba was involved in a similar situation. He was on the other end of a high foot against Huddersfield where he did draw blood. Not even a yellow card was given in this instance. This can be attributed to poor/inconsistent refereeing.

This is why players act like they’ve been shot because they know referees will give them a decision. This follows onto the bias referees have. A lot of refs will be scared to give a decision against Man Utd at Old Trafford because of the fans.

While I don’t believe there’s an ‘agenda’ against Newcastle, I do think Newcastle have been given more of their fair share of bad decisions.